I don’t really know why anyone would want to go to the Republican National Convention (or the Democratic National Convention, for that matter). I know it’s supposed to be an enjoyable time where we get to be “energized” as we officially nominate our candidate, but there is quite a dark side to these conventions that the media rarely mention.

These conventions show participants the grim face of a police state. Armed cops everywhere decked out in riot gear, complete with helmets, face shields and full body armor. In fact, nearly 150 sets of riot gear and equipment have been ordered by Homeland Security to give to the Federal Protective Service ahead of the RNC, DNC and inauguration. At the RNC this year, they’re going to have designated “free-speech zones” where protestors and demonstrators may stay, away from the convention and its participants. I guess that means that everywhere else is going to be a “non-free-speech zone,” so if you’re planning on going, be careful not to say anything.

The Federal Protective Service will be doing all the security for the conventions. They’re anticipating violent demonstrators and rioters. I’m sure there will be plenty of protestors, and there will be times when the protestors will clash with the police. What I wonder is how many of those protest groups are going to have undercover cops posing as protestors and carrying out violent acts in order to justify all the arrests and further violence that will for sure ensue. These types of undercover police are called agents provocateurs, French for “inciting agents.”

In the past, undercover cops have infiltrated various groups in order to find out what the group was planning and ultimately to discredit the group. When the time came to participate in one of their events, like a protest, they might incite others in the group to violence by acting violent themselves, prompting police to arrest many of the members.

At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Denver police infiltrated some anarchist group. They had dressed up as protestors and were acting violent to incite a riot. Ironically, the only people that ended up getting pepper-sprayed were the undercover cops. Apparently, some of the police didn’t get word that undercover cops were being used to stage protests, and so they thought that one of their commanders was being attacked.

In the months leading up to the 2004 Republican National Convention, police similarly infiltrated groups, filmed participants, and reported back to their superiors what the group was planning. These undercover police dressed the part and held up homemade looking signs. They even infiltrated bicycle groups and participated in a vigil for a fallen cyclist while filming those involved. During the actual 2004 RNC, undercover agents staged an arrest of a fellow police officer working undercover as a protestor, and this sparked even more protest from the rest of the group, which prompted more arrests.

Their favorite group to infiltrate seems to be anti-war groups. Say what you want about these people, but if they can infiltrate those groups easily, they can infiltrate any group. What if they started infiltrating pro-life groups or Tea Party groups? Can you imagine them holding their sign and throwing rocks at police or setting things on fire? And then they would blame it all on the Tea Party or “anti-abortion extremists.” What you would see on the news is footage of someone acting violent and holding a pro-life or anti-tax sign and being arrested by a riot cop. They’d have their experts on their news shows talking about how violent and extreme those “right-wing radicals” are.

If you’re going to watch the convention on TV, and they decide to show footage of the protestors, just keep in mind that some of those protestors (the more crazy ones) are probably police working undercover.